UPDATE: The Lejac fire now categorized as ‘being held’

The Lejac fire has been categorized as “being held” as of 8 p.m. on May 12.

Molly Blower, information officer with the Prince George Fire Centre said crews made significant progress in battling the fire.

According to the BC Wildfire Service, a fire is classified as “being held” when sufficient suppression action has been taken that the fire is not likely to spread beyond existing or predetermined boundaries under the prevailing and forecasted weather conditions.

Five firefighters will on overnight patrol in the area, Blower said.

“BC Wildfire Service has recommended to make changes to the current evacuation orders and alerts. It is under the discretion of the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN) and I would keep checking their website for up to date information on those changes,” she said.

Gerry Thiessen, chair of the board of directors of the RDBN said that as of 7:30 p.m. on May 12, the fire had gone down from 260 hectares to 236 hectares. He said the wind was not a concern anymore.

“It was a good day. The wind which was a big concern didn’t materialize. That was a real plus for us,” Thiessen said.

The BC Wildfire Service website reported that the fire is 70 percent guarded and not contained.

Thiessen said that they suspect the fire is man-made. “We are coming into the long weekend now and I guess our biggest concern is to make sure that people are careful when they are out in the back country. The bush is so dry. With the drought we have had and the lack of snow, we really need to be careful,” he added.

Vanderhoof residents do not need to worried about the fire, Thiessen said, noting that if things continue to go well for the firefighters then the alerts could be withdrawn over the next couple of days.

Environment Canada has forecasted a 60 percent chance of showers on May 14 and Thiessen said he hopes the moisture will take care of worries of another fire breaking out.

There were 41 firefighters on site with 14 pieces of equipment and two helicopters, he said.

In the evacuation area near Fraser Lake, there were 40 homes that had alerts delivered to them, Thiessen explained, adding that the area in Lejac that was given an evacuation order is of significant size. However, there were a lot of homes that did not have residents living there currently.

For people in need of emergency services there are emergency social services groups in Fort St. James, Fraser Lake, Vanderhoof, Burns Lake and Prince George, the chairman added.